


Falling for the First Time

by patster223



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, First Meeting, meet cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 10:22:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9718304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patster223/pseuds/patster223
Summary: When Carey first meets Killian, she’s so struck by her that she actually falls off a roof.She eventually gets herself together enough to help Killian hunt down a rogue warlock. But that feeling of falling never really stops





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for #tazladyweek! Title from the Barenaked Ladies song.

Carey’s the best there is at what she does: you know, rogue-stuff. Acrobatics, stealth, deception—she’s pretty much got it all down. But on the day she met Killian, well…

Let’s just say that Carey was not in peak form. It is hard to _be_ in peak form when you suddenly spot a beautiful half-orc woman who is muscular enough to carry a crossbow bigger than most _people._ It’s the sort of sight that takes your breath away—or, at least, it took away Carey’s.

When Carey tells her version of this story later, Killian always nudges her and whispers _gay,_ to which Carey can only agree.

For now, though, Carey crit misses her acrobatics roll because of the aforementioned gayness. Which means that, instead of doing a sweet flip across a rooftop like she’d meant to, she falls right on top of the orc woman standing in the street below her.

It’s not even kind of a meet cute. Dirt and mud now stain their clothes, the orc woman’s elbow pokes into Carey’s side, and Carey’s pretty sure that her tail is crushing the orc woman’s leg. Carey even ends up with a snoutful of hair, hair that’s thick and warm, and…dark, and…lovely and—

Okay. Maybe it’s kind of a meet cute.

The orc woman blinks, looks down at her—thankfully intact—crossbow and then stares at Carey. Her cheeks flush—with anger?—and she opens her mouth, but she doesn’t speak for a long moment, as if unsure of what to _do_ after a dragonborn falls from the sky.

Carey, _also_ unsure of what to do after a dragonborn falls from the sky, blurts out, “You good?”

The orc woman startles, as if that were the _last_ thing she’d been expecting to hear, and then says, “Heh. Yeah.”

Carey breathes out a sigh of relief. “That’s great to hear.”

And then, because the orc woman’s skin is hot against Carey’s scales, and because the woman’s lips are full and pink on her agape mouth, and because Carey needs to do _something_ before she short-circuits completely, she says, “I’m Carey. I’m a rogue, I’m real good at rogue-stuff.”

The orc woman raises an eyebrow. “You just fell from a roof.”

“Well, you know—pobody’s nerfect. You should see me when I’m _really_ in the rogue zone. ”

The orc woman snorts. She carefully picks Carey up and sets her aside—and if Carey hadn’t already had the wind knocked out of her by the fall, _that_ would’ve done it. Dear gods, this beautiful orc woman is buff enough to actually _carry her._

 “My name is Killian,” the orc woman says, seemingly oblivious to Carey’s internal meltdown—though, judging by the way Killian looks her up and down, maybe Carey’s not alone in that. Carey preens and thanks her lucky stars that she’s wearing her fetching, dark blue rogue’s outfit today, the one that complements her scales so nicely.   

“I’m, uh,” Killian stammers, “not a rogue? But I have this big-ass crossbow, so I do okay…Oh! I can do some pretty sweet flips though.”

Killian exchanges stats as if it’s what’s expected of her—probably is, if she’s the adventuring type—but that last sentence is said with so much pride and enthusiasm that Carey can’t help but melt a little.

Of course, then Killian’s stone of farspeech has to interrupt their sweet conversation about sweet flips, because that’s just Carey’s luck.

“Killian!” the voice over the stone says. “He got away. He doesn’t have a—” here Carey just hears a staticky sound “-but he still managed to cause a damn mess in the town square.”

“Roger. I’ll be right there,” Killian says to the stone. She glances at Carey and shrugs as if to say _what can you do?_ “Maybe I’ll, uh, see you around.”

Now, Carey’s met enough adventuring types to know that you don’t tend to _see them around_ once they leave. Adventurers cycle through towns quicker than a teenage dragonborn molts. It’d never bothered Carey before—she liked the constant stream of new people and stories and artifacts—but now…

Now an adventure is interrupting her meet cute, dang it.

“I can bring you to the square,” Carey says—hopefully saying so helpfully rather than desperately. “I know a shortcut.”

Killian smiles, nods, and—much to Carey’s surprise—actually follows Carey through the streets. When they arrive at the square, Killian even says a soft _thanks_ to Carey before going to talk to some dwarf.

Carey doesn’t even have time to mourn Killian’s company before the ruined square draws her eye. Carey looks on, mouth agape, at the smoking debris, the cracked building facades, the shattered windows—and the people on the ground who moan weakly as clerics tend to their wounds.

Carey’s nostrils flare. She knows thieves and she knows criminals—and most of them would never have the cruelty nor the _ability_ to destroy everything in sight like this. What is going _on_ here?

She focuses back on Killian just in time to hear her say, “The nearby caves?” A snort. “They’ve always got to hide in caves, huh?”

“Better hiding in a cave than him getting the-” the dwarf replies, but then his words erupt into a haze of static. When Killian responds, it’s with that same static—which Carey had just figured was due to a faulty stone of farspeech, but apparently _not_.

Carey’s ears twitch in interest. This beautiful orc woman who loves sweet flips is _also_ a do-gooder shrouded in mystery and adventure? Count Carey in.

“I can guide you into the caves,” Carey announces, approaching Killian and the dwarf.

The dwarf glances at Carey. He takes a long drag of his cigar. “And you are?”

Killian coughs. “Boyland, this is Carey, we, uh…ran into each other before I got to the square. She’s a rogue, she’s, uh, real good at rogue-stuff. Carey, this is Boyland, my fellow-” static “-uh, I mean, my co-worker.”

Boyland raises an eyebrow at Killian as she stammers, glances at Carey’s—no doubt overeager—smile, and snorts.

“We’ve been planetside for two hours and you’ve already made a friend?” Boyland says to Killian. “I must be a good influence on you after all.”

“You’re a pain in my ass is what you are,” Killian mutters. “You lost our target.”

“So did you. But it sounds like your friend here can help us out.”

Carey nods. “I practice sneaking in those caves all the time! I know ‘em inside and out. If you guys are aiming to catch the bastard that did this, I can get you to him.”

“She wants to help us do good, Boyland,” Killian says. “I say we let her.”

Boyland chuckles and takes another drag from his cigar. “You know me, Kill—more the merrier, I always say.”

Killian grins and actually gives Carey a thumbs up. Carey is quick to give a thumbs up back—because hell yeah, she’s on a mysterious secret mission! One that she doesn’t entirely understand, sure, but also one that is intended for the greater good, that is led by a beautiful woman, that is—

Well. That is an _adventure_. Carey may be a damn good rogue, but adventure—that’s not something she’s ever tried before. And—like most adventurers, Carey suspects—she’s quickly getting a taste for it.

Carey leads them to the cave. On their walk, she quickly discovers why Killian and Boyland seem to work so well together. They’re both exactly same kind of gruff: always ready to yell and fight and rush in—it’s apparent even in the harsh banter they exchange. Carey’s instantly endeared to them both.

Once they’re at the mouth of the cave, Killian lays a hand on Carey’s arm.

“Stay here,” Killian says seriously. “I need to go over the plan with Boyland.”

As it turns out, ‘going over the plan’ consists of Killian and Boyland exchanging furious whispers for about a minute—both of them glancing at Carey periodically—before Boyland laughs uproariously. Killian is quick to slap him on the arm in response.  

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you want, Kill,” Boyland says, not bothering to whisper anymore. He nods at Carey. “I’m gonna take up the rear. Wouldn’t want to muddy up the visibility with cigar smoke.”

Given the flimsiness of the excuse and the way Killian nods a bit too hard at the suggestion, Carey suspects that this _might_ be a set up. Carey grins. She’s liking this adventuring thing more and more by the minute.  

“So,” Killian says, once they’re walking side-by-side and there’s a fair distance between them and Boyland. “What’s your thing?”

“My thing?”

“You know, like…what do you like…to do…?” Killian sighs. “I’m not great at conversation.”

“Me neither,” Carey says. “I know dragonborns are supposed to be charismatic and shit, but…”

Carey shrugs. She knows she’s not a typical dragonborn—too slight and small, too awkward, too stealthy—but she tries not to let that kind of stuff bother her anymore.

Killian nods emphatically. “I get ya. People always think half-orcs are bad—but I’m not even mean, I’m just huge and carry a giant crossbow. But people misunderstand it. That’s why I wanted to work for the-” Static again.

“Uh, you started talking all weird just now,” Carey says.

“I’m so bad at remembering that,” Killian mutters.

“When you talk like that,” Carey says, “I bet it’s related to you and Boyland and the guy you’re searching for—it’s something mysterious and cool, right?”

Killian leans in. “ _Very_ cool. And _very_ mysterious.”

“I can be cool and mysterious,” Carey says, very coolly and very mysteriously. “I’m a rogue, you know.”

Killian laughs. “Oh yeah, when you fell on me? That was _real_ cool and mysterious.”

“Shut up,” Carey says, bumping her hip against Killian’s. She smiles when Killian flushes at the touch. “I’ll have you _know_ that I fell because I got distracted by, um…by a beautiful orc woman who was walking below.”

Killian startles, nearly tripping over herself—but they’re already standing so closely that Carey hardly has to move in order to steady her. Her hands slot easily against Killian’s arm, and pulling Killian back to her feet is as easy as breathing. Once they’re upright, however, Carey can only seem to stand there dumbly—it’s just that Killian’s skin is so _hot_ against her cool scales and the muscle underneath is so firm to Carey’s touch.

Carey clears her throat and lets go—but not before Killian’s fingers reach up to touch hers for a brief, lovely moment: leaving Carey’s scales warm as the two of them separate and finally resume their walk.

 “I, uh,” Killian manages. “I don’t think your charisma’s as bad as you think.”

Carey’s heart races. “And I don’t think you’re mean at all.”

“I try not to be,” Killian says softly. “It’s a dirty line of work sometimes, though. You probably know what that’s like, being a rogue and all.”

 “Oh, uh,” Carey stammers. Shit, she forgot that first dates usually involve these kinds of conversations. She’s also not sure if this is a date? Dates probably aren’t supposed to happen while bounty hunting, right? Gods, this is hard.

“I don’t do much rogue stuff professionally these days,” Carey finally admits.

“Economy’s bad in the rogue business too, huh? I get ya.”

“Nah. It’s more like…the business itself is bad,” Carey explains. “I mean, the people are great, but we’re sneaky, you know? And I knew that going in, but I thought I could be sneaky _and_ help people, but...I guess it ended up being harder than I thought to find honest work when my skill set is…not-so-honest.”

If Killian finds that at all shameful or contradictory, she doesn’t indicate it. She only nods again, as if she understands.

“It’s hard to do good sometimes,” Killian says. She glances at Carey. “So if you weren’t doing rogue stuff on that roof, why were you up there?”

Carey puts her face in her hands. “God, you’re going to laugh at me.”

“Why would I laugh?”

“It’s embarrassing. You’re supposed to save the embarrassing stuff for the second date.” Carey freezes and then curses her damn charisma. “Oh Gods, what am I talking about? This isn’t even a date, this is a dude-hunting trip. Shit, sorry, Killian.”

Killian startles, but doesn’t trip again. She quickly clears her throat, as if unsure of what to say, and then—as if also unsure what to do—she awkwardly bumps her shoulder against Carey’s.

It’s the right thing to do and, shortly afterward, Killian also follows it up with the right thing to say. She’s cool like that.

“Dates don’t usually take place in caves,” Killian admits. “But that means we can talk about whatever we want, right? Even the embarrassing stuff.”

Carey takes a deep breath, trying to stifle the nervous energy in her lungs: the kind that drops to the pit of her stomach and makes her feel like she’s falling off a roof again.

“I wasn’t doing some cool rogue thing up there,” Carey says. “I was just late for a knitting class and thought the rooftops would get me there faster.”

When Killian laughs, it’s not harsh or cruel—it’s _delighted,_ bursting out of her like a firework: booming and bright and crackling in the darkness.

“And how’d that go for you?” Killian teases.

Carey laughs—she can’t help but do so while Killian’s chuckles still hum warmly in the air.

“Well, my knitting still sucks,” Carey says. “But, uh. Other than that, I’d say it’s going pretty good.”

“Heh. Yeah, I think so too,” Killian says. She smiles shyly. “Those instructors never have good needles for non-human hands anyway. _I_ could…give you some pointers sometime, if you’d like.”

Carey’s face bursts into a grin before she can control it. “Yeah?”

“Yeah! I made a mean sweater once; it had a duck on it. I’ll try to wear it next time.”

Before Carey can even react to the idea of a next time, their plan goes to shit—predictably so, given that they were busy _flirting_ instead of watching for their bounty like they were supposed to be doing. Later, Boyland will admit that he’d known it was a possibility, but that he hadn’t wanted to stand in the way of love.

Now, though, their target—some human warlock—crashes through the stone wall, his body hurtling toward them. It’s only with a swift dexterity saving throw that Carey manages to push Killian onto the ground and out of the way.

It’s also how Carey ends up sprawled across Killian’s chest for the second time that day.

Killian grins. “We’ve got to stop meeting like this.”

“But then how else will I show off how good I am when I’m _really_ in the rogue zone?” Carey says, as she helps Killian to her feet.

“Let’s see it then,” Killian says. She charges toward the warlock. Boyland catches up to them from behind and is quick to leap into the fray, his ax singing through the air as Killian’s crossbow bolts find purchase in their target. Even with the two of them working together, however, it’s clear that this warlock’s no joke—magic missiles hit all three of them, and a stray fireball nearly singes Boyland to a crisp.

Thankfully, Carey is there—and Carey isn’t lying when she says that she’s the best at what she does. With the warlock distracted by the two fighters, it’s easy for Carey to slip into his personal space and sink daggers into his back before leaping away. She slinks in the shadows, using dazzling lights to confuse and blind the warlock, allowing all three of them to get in their attacks. It’s a thing of beauty, really—they all work so easily together, neatly sidestepping each other’s movements and building off of each other’s attacks.

 “Carey!” Killian calls. When Carey turns toward her, Killian has dropped her crossbow and linked her hands together in a bowl-shape. Carey doesn’t need any more of an explanation than that—she dashes forward, leaps into Killian’s hands, and lets Killian launch her into warlock’s back with daggers already drawn.

Needless to say, it is a fucking _sweet_ flip.

Once the danger has subsided and Boyland is checking the body for traps—and loot—Killian rushes toward Carey, easily picks her up in her arms, and twirls her around.

“That was amazing!” Killian cries, as Carey breathes tiny, euphoric giggles onto her face. “That was—that was.” She slows down, loosening her grip on Carey. Killian clears her throat. In the dim light, Carey can see her throat move as she does so. It’s intoxicating—as beautiful as any sunset.

“That was one sweet flip you did there,” Killian says.

“You too,” Carey says. “Teamwork, yeah?”

“Hell yeah,” Killian says with a big grin. And Carey swears that that smile is bright enough to light up this entire god damn cave. She’s _so_ tempted to lean in and press a kiss to it—

Boyland coughs. “Not to interrupt, but—well, it’s only fair that we ask now, since we wouldn’t have been able to do this without you.” He raises an eyebrow at Killian. “Go on. Ask her.”

Killian’s smile dims for a moment before she nods hard enough for Carey to feel it. Then, with all the care someone would give to a tiny duckling, Killian gently sets Carey down.

“Carey,” Killian says, her brows furrowed with determination. “The-” static “-uh, I mean, the organization that Boyland and I work for still needs new recruits, and—you’ve clearly got what it takes. It’s good, honest work. And to do it, we need good, honest people. Honest rogues.”

Carey bounces on her toes. She can’t help it—she can’t seem to help much of anything around Killian.

“I don’t know,” Carey pretends to demur. “A mysterious, cool lady taking me to work at her mysterious, cool organization? I think you’ll need to sweeten the pot.”

Boyland laughs. “Oh, this is going to be beautiful.”

“Shut up,” Killian says, but she hasn’t stopped smiling since Carey spoke. “We work well together, Carey. And, uh, I think this’ll actually be easier for the two of us.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. This way I don’t have to wait as long to ask you on a second date.”

Carey squeaks. It’s not really a sound that a dignified dragonborn thief is supposed to make. But screw saving the embarrassing stuff for the second date—because _there’s going to be a second date!_

“Was this a date then?” Carey teases, her words half-strangled as she tries to process everything that Killian is saying: everything that she is. “I thought dates didn’t usually happen in caves.”

Killian shrugs. “Thought we’d make an exception. After all, uh…I can’t just take you up to the moon as a first date. That’s more of a second date kind of locale, don’t you think?”

Carey has no idea. What she _does_ know is that being demur is for losers who don’t get asked out on moon dates. And so, Carey stands on the tips of her toes so that she can press a firm kiss to Killian’s lips.

Carey’s never kissed someone warmblooded before—it’s a bit strange, hotter and wetter than she’s used to. But it’s also slow, chaste: familiar, as if their lips were meeting as two old friends would. _Oh. Hello there. How have you been? It’s good to see you._

And _oh,_ Carey never wants to kiss anyone else ever again.

Boyland cheers and Killian laughs, and it’s not long before Carey’s swept away in a bubble that flies them into the sky. Later that day, Carey drinks the voidfish’s ichor. When she does, her head clears and finally feels _right,_ but it’s not an unfamiliar feeling to her, as it is to so many other Bureau initiates.

After all, she’s already met Killian.

 


End file.
